Austin Stahl gets right to the point and then finishes. The six songs on this EP clock in at barely more than 11 minutes, though they feel neither slight nor rushed. Stahl recorded and produced these songs at his Baltimore home, though that's hardly apparent, either.

Austin Stahl Waste Places EP (self-released)

While these songs exist within the stark minimalism of a Nick Drake, Stahl adds some keyboards, beats and other modest accouterments to the acoustic guitar that drives these songs. His melodies are modest and his vocals are understated, but the impact of the songs is massive.

Some folks don't know how to edit. I'm not sure that's what Stahl has done here, as each of these songs feels meditative and expansive even though none are longer than two minutes and eighteen seconds. In any case, Stahl has found an almost perfect ear for expressing a single idea in the perfect amount of time.

When a set of songs is spectacular, it can feel like time is compressed. Stahl's gift with this tight EP is to expand time in a most pleasurable way. Would that it went on forever. Or maybe not. This was meant to be short, but it measures up to albums five times as long.

Jon Worley